Chapter 1323: 1240 The Invincible Great Qin

On September 11, the Qin Country’s armored corps, having occupied Daxi Pass, advanced eastward and encircled 350,000 Dahua defenders at Wangdu.

These hastily assembled Dahua troops had no will to resist, and after a brief hesitation, they surrendered their weapons.

The fall of Wangdu, where 350,000 defenders were surrounded and annihilated, rapidly deteriorated Dahua’s situation. Bingshuo was occupied by the Qin Army three days later, and now there was no barrier between the tracks of Qin Army’s type four tanks and the King City of Dahua.

On the southern front, Qin forces advanced into the central region’s largest city of Si Mountain in Chu Country. The defenders of Si Mountain held out for only seven days before being defeated; on September 22, Si Mountain city was occupied by Qin Country.

The Great Qin Empire, with its unparalleled brave soldiers, showcased to the world what a full-scale blitzkrieg looks like, with a million troops advancing simultaneously on three fronts with an irresistible momentum.

Having lost Si Mountain, Chu Country was left almost defenseless, with the entire southern region collapsing, even the coastal Nanshan Port seemed precarious.

Xiong Biao awaited assistance from the Great Tang Empire but was met instead with bombs from Qin Country’s bombers. Helpless, the King of Chu could only flee once again, taking his family as he prepared to escape from the Royal City into Refuge City, heading to Nanshan Port to seek asylum.

Meanwhile, in the central region, the Qin Army, united with Zhao Jie’s forces, continued to advance eastward, recapturing the key grain-producing town of Jutian after defeating Li Mingshun’s group.

Obtaining a large amount of abandoned supplies, this Qin Army continued eastward, exploiting Li Mingshun’s unsteady foothold to swiftly retake Shanchong.

This armored group, slashing northward from the south, seemed like a sharp blade pressed against Zhao Yu’s side.

Further north from Shanchong lies Dongqing City, which beyond the King City and the former Imperial Capital, is Dahua’s most populous, its transportation most developed and convenient, and its heavy industry most concentrated area.

If Dongqing falls, the land connection between the Dahua Kingdom and the Great Tang Empire will be virtually severed, preventing support from the Great Tang Empire from reaching the front lines.

If things continue this way, wouldn’t the Dahua Kingdom be isolated and surrounded? Zhao Yu could not tolerate such a situation to occur and immediately assembled all available troops, massing them in the direction of Dongqing.

But having to defend the King City while stabilizing Dongqing, Zhao Yu couldn’t find enough forces in time. His main forces were with Li Mingshun, and in the Battle of Pingfeng, they were completely annihilated by the Qin Empire’s famous general, Ying An…

As a result, in the Battle of Wangdu, the hard-assembled army of 350,000 did not return either, causing the Dahua Kingdom’s forces to experience a temporary vacuum, unable to halt the advancing Qin forces.

The anticipated rapid counterattack from the Great Tang Empire did not occur, with the Tang Empire appearing unexpectedly sluggish, its main forces showing no intention of advancing.

In military terms, Tang provided only symbolic ammunition support to the Dahua troops and took no further action.

Regarding diplomacy, the Great Tang Empire’s response appeared slower than usual: on September 25, its Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially issued a statement expressing its disapproval of Qin Empire’s use of force against the Dahua Kingdom and Chu Kingdom.

Just like the old and decrepit former Dahua Empire, the Great Tang Empire only issued verbal condemnation without effective measures.

The most feared September counterattack from the Tang Empire for the Qin Empire did not come, allowing them to peacefully seize a territory vastly larger than they initially estimated within a month.

Amidst the condemnations from the Great Tang Empire, Qin Country’s tanks surrounded the former Imperial Capital, now the Dahua Kingdom’s King City. Zhao Yu fled, dying amidst chaotic troops during his escape.

Subsequently, the morale of the Dahua Kingdom’s forces further deteriorated; on October 3, the King City was occupied by Qin Country, and on October 4, the northern depot defenders surrendered their weapons.

On October 5, Jiang Run, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Great Tang Empire, issued another statement condemning Qin Country’s barbaric actions, declaring the Great Tang Empire’s right to advocate justice for its vassal states.

On October 6, Ying An’s 500,000 strong army occupied Dongqing and merged with Wang Luo’s 500,000 troops, effectively completing the conquest of the Dahua Kingdom.

By October 20, the Heishui Oilfield declared its surrender, the largest oilfield facility cluster in the Dahua Kingdom becoming Qin Country’s possession.

Beyond Li Mingshun’s final holdout in Xiajian, every city in the Dahua Kingdom had already fallen to Qin Country.

And all this transpired in less than two months.

On October 21, as if racing against time, southern Qin forces grandly entered the Chu Kingdom King’s Royal City Refuge City, conducting a grand parade on Refuge City’s square.

Zhang Xuan’s force of over 300,000 approached Nanshan Port, reaching the zenith of Qin Country’s blitz tactics, their territory exceeding that of the Great Tang Empire, positioning them as the world’s foremost power!

The world witnessed what Qin speed means; globally, the belief emerged that this time they truly had a chance to overthrow the Great Tang Empire. The Qin blitz seemed fitfully invincible!

More promising than the last time! More likely to win! Such thoughts drove countries worldwide to place their bets, anticipating a brilliant victory!

As November commenced, the Great Tang Empire’s counterattack remained elusive, with Qin Country’s army besieging Xiajian. Li Mingshun was struggling alone, the fall of Dahua seeming assured.

The temperature in the Northern Region turned cold, snow could fall at any moment, just as the world expected the Great Tang Empire to swallow the loss of its two vassal countries to Qin Country unexpectedly, everything changed.

On November 11, at the Great Tang Empire’s Imperial Capital, Chang’an, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a press conference, where Tang’s Foreign Minister, Nangong Hong, formally presented a national letter to Qin Country, demanding their immediate withdrawal from Great Tang Empire’s two vassal territories and compensation for all economic war losses to victims.

Failing to receive a direct response from Qin Country, Nangong Hong held another conference the next day, using the warning “Never say that it wasn’t forewarned” for the first time.

Also on that day, Dahua’s renowned general Li Mingshun committed suicide within his command center, declaring the final quest for Dahua a lost cause, marking the same day Xiajian fell, the Dahua Kingdom’s demise.

Two days later, with Qin Country still heedlessly ignoring warnings from the Great Tang Empire, Tang’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs held yet another press conference, declaring to the world.

The Great Tang Empire… formally declared war on the Qin Country.